For the first time since 2009, the U.S. government said Wednesday that it will raise Social Security benefits with a cost-of-living adjustment, up 3.6%, and the announcement was followed by praise—and criticism.

Markets rose Friday after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said he was 'optimistic' about the U.S. economy in a speech at Jackson Hold, Wyo., and signaled that the Fed had no plans for a third round of quantitative easing.